Dr. Chuan He is the John T. Wilson Service Professor at the University of Chicago, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and 2023 Wolf Prize Laureate. A world leader in RNA and DNA methylation research, he invented the UBS and UMBS technologies powering Ellis Bio’s SuperMethyl™ products. Author of 500+ papers and 20+ patents, Dr. He serves as Ellis Bio’s Founder and Scientific Advisor.
Dr. Ruitu Lyu earned his PhD from Fudan University and completed postdoctoral training under Prof. Chuan He at UChicago. An expert in genomics, epigenetics, and bioinformatics, he developed key genomic technologies including UMBS-seq, KAS-seq, and RNA f⁵C-seq. Joining Ellis Bio as a Senior Scientific Advisor in 2024, Dr. Lyu guides product development using his deep expertise in epigenetics and genomics. He has published 35+ papers in top journals.
With 30+ years in global sales and marketing, Stephen Manobianco leads Ellis Bio’s business development and sales. Formerly VP of Global Sales at GENEWIZ, he drove international growth across North America, Europe, and Asia. As founder of PSG Life Sciences, he advises biotech firms on scaling revenue and CRM implementation. At Ellis Bio, he leads business development and the commercial team at Ellis Bio’s Chicago and Cambridge sites.
Dr. Diana West-Szymanski has over 20 years of research experience in chemistry and cancer biology, including five years in Prof. He’s lab at UChicago. After leading commercialization efforts at AccuraDX, she joined biotech VC firm Plaisance Capital in 2023. Dr. West-Szymanski led Plaisance’s founding and incubation of Ellis Bio, where she now serves as Operations Lead and Board Member. Dr. West-Szymanski oversees operations and strategy across Ellis Bio’s Chicago and Cambridge sites.
As VP of Samba Scientific, Jenna has worked with over 50 companies in the life science space on marketing strategy, messaging, and content development. Her PhD work at UC Davis - focused on gene expression in plants - and her postdoc at Colorado State - focused on synthetic biology - culminated in 20+ publications. An avid science writer, her 40+ published news stories include bylines at the Washington Post and Scientific American.
Candice Chen is an experienced HR professional skilled in recruitment, employee relations, and organizational development. At Ellis Bio, she manages hiring, onboarding, and logistics operations. Known for improving efficiency and team performance, Ms. Chen supports company-wide operations.
Matthew Manobianco provides marketing implementation to Ellis Bio. Specializing in digital marketing, CRM optimization, and lead generation, he manages campaigns, content creation, and CRM integration.
Shailja Singh brings expertise in business development, operational excellence, and biomanufacturing processes. She holds a Master’s degree in Biotechnology (Enterprise) and a Bachelor’s in Biotechnology Engineering. Prior to joining Ellis Bio in April 2025, Ms. Singh worked at Sanofi and InVitria, where she optimized site operations and supported product commercialization in the cell and gene therapy space.
Sofia Testor Cabrera obtained her BS in Biotechnology and Neuroscience and has an MBA in Healthcare Markets & Business Analytics. She brings previous experience in genomics and business strategy. Previously a researcher in the Blackmore Lab, she contributed to transcriptomic studies. Additionally she worked in customer engagement and product marketing.
Yiding Wang is a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago whose research focuses on developing novel epigenetic and epitranscriptomic sequencing technologies. Her work has led to multiple publications in Nature portfolio journals, patents, and commercialized tools for DNA methylation detection. Beyond academia, Yiding bridges science and business through fellowships at the Polsky Center, Chicago:Blend/2Flo Ventures, and other groups, gaining hands-on experience in technology commercialization. She currently supports Ellis Bio as a student intern.
